Luanda — The creation of a Technical and Economic Feasibility Plan to make the country's airports profitable was one of the recommendations made Thursday by members of the National Assembly's Economy and Finance Committee to the transport sector.
According to the MPs, who were speaking during a session to hear the minister of Transport, Ricardo de Abreu, the respective plan should be presented within six months, when the General State Budget (OGE) is submitted.
Speaking to the press, MP João Mpilamosi Domingos said that currently "there has been no useful and effective utilisation of the airports built in the country's provinces", infrastructures with modern equipment that surpass some airports on the African continent.
As for the consultation with the minister of Transport, the parliamentarian pointed to the Angolan government's recent announcement of the purchase of 600 buses as one of the issues that dominated the session.
In turn, the minister of Transport, Ricardo de Abreu, said that the approach covered all the sector's issues, from questions of an organisational and institutional nature to the structural reforms implemented during this period, as well as identifying improvements in the sector for the benefit of the population and the economy.
He emphasised that the hearing provided a framework for the transport and logistical sector, as well as to talk about key projects, both those already completed and those in progress.
"We announced the need to guarantee the operation of more passenger transport, scheduled for the last quarter of this year, and the start of passenger operations at the new Luanda Airport", he emphasised.
He also spoke about the business opportunities that exist in the country, through the implementation of Public-Private Partnerships, as well as the sector's statistical performance in 2023 and the National Master Plan for the Transport and Road Infrastructure Sector (PDNSTIR).
The minister also pointed to the airport infrastructures underway in the country, in particular the construction and equipping of Mbanza Kongo Airport and the New Cabinda International Airport, and in the road sector he mentioned the supply of 500 Volkswagen buses and 600 Volvo buses.
As for concessions and Public-Private Partnerships, the minister spoke of the concessions awarded to private investors, namely the Caála Logistics Platform in Huambo, the Multipurpose Terminal at the Port of Luanda, the Lobito Container and General Cargo Terminal, the Luanda Multipurpose Terminal and the Lobito Corridor, one of the most talked about major corridors in the world.
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Official figures show that the concession of the three port terminals and the railway-port concession correspond to an overall investment plan of more than 1.2 billion dollars.
The Ministry of Transport reported that the concessions already handed over to the private sector from 2021 to 2024 have created around 4,314 direct jobs and 1,650 indirect jobs.
The public-private partnership model that has been implemented in the transport and logistics sector has also made it possible to raise around 380,000 USD, in addition to the fixed and variable revenues to be paid by the concessionaires.
This year, the minister of Transport is the second government official to be heard by MPs, days after the Minister of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing, Carlos dos Santos.
This exercise falls within the remit of the National Assembly's Economy and Finance Committee, which is tasked with supervising government activities.
